Author: Tom

Tom Ghinder founded Akron Promise, Inc. with his wife, Daralee Ghinder in 2015 to help shape a culture of education in Akron.
Tom and Daralee have been residents of Akron for 25 years where their children attended and graduated from Akron Public Schools.
Tom spent his professional career in IT specializing in data analysis, data quality, and the interrelationship of systems.

With eight Kenmore Garfield High School graduates attending Stark State College on full tuition and book scholarships, Akron Promise is back at work for the 2018-19 school year. The Stark State freshmen are not only receiving financial support for books and tuition, they are also getting information on how to steward those dollars. Students are attending sessions at the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) on Kenmore Blvd. The FEC is available to all residents of Summit county.

Akron Promise is also working with Stark State's academic advisors, and we are helping to ensure that each of the scholarship recipients also feel emotionally and academically supported. Stark State’s team is working to help all of our students persist until they achieve their goals.

In early October, Akron Public Schools and Stark State College announced that Stark State will be a ‘Sister College” to Kenmore-Garfield High School. They have committed to initial in-kind support of $150,000 in the first year, and $75,000 of in-kind support in the following two years. Akron Promise is very excited about the recent announcement, as this collaboration will give extra support, information and opportunities to the students and staff at KGHS. Stark State and the University of Akron have also announced a partnership where classes taken at Stark State will transfer to the University of Akron, with seamless movement between the two.

Other big news is the commencement of College and Career Academies at KGHS. This method of education brings real-world application to what our students learn in their required curriculum, as well as potential career paths. Partnerships with local businesses expose students to internship and employment opportunities. There are a variety of fields to choose from, though students are allowed to change their path. This learning meets requirements for mandated tests and is transferable no matter which path they choose. All freshmen participate in the Freshman Academy where they learn skills necessary to be successful in high school, complete career exploration activities, and visit college campuses. Upperclassmen will participate in either the Academy of Emerging Technology and Design or the Academy of Health and Human Services. Students can also apply to attend other academies at other high schools in Akron.

There are many positive initiatives to give KGHS students access to opportunities that can lead to a rewarding and productive post high school life. Akron Promise is working to help connect students to all available resources. It's a mission that requires a lot of community investment. For anyone interested in giving an hour a week, there is a big demand for mentors. No experience is necessary. For those interested in making a tax deductible contribution to the Kenmore-Garfield Stark State Scholarship, there is a link on the Akron Promise website.

If you'd like more information about any of the programs mentioned in this article, links are available here or contact Tom Ghinder, Founder of Akron Promise, at tghinder@gmail.com or 330-329-4855.

Over the last 3 years, Los Angeles-based filmmakers Jaye & Adam Fenderson spent hundreds of hours filming a new documentary about educational attainment, with a focus on five U.S. cities—including Akron.

Tomorrow night Three Frame Media is bringing “Unlikely” to Akron. This film focuses on the reality of higher education by following students, two of whom call Akron home, through their own process at The University of Akron.

The evening will include a pre-screening catered dinner reception in the lobby and the chance for the audience to connect with local schools, organizations and businesses and get resources for post-secondary and workforce opportunities.

Doors will be opening the doors at 6 pm for a 45-minute reception featuring a local caterer. Click here to get your tickets.

The screening will be followed by a townhall discussion who will share their expertise and perspective on supporting student success in the Akron community.

On Saturday July 14th, Akron Promise held two fundraisers for the
Kenmore-Garfield Stark State Scholarship Fund.

The golf outing at Mud Run Golf Course was blessed by good weather
and a supportive group of golfers. In the evening, there was a Dessert
Party at the Live Music Now! venue. Peach cobbler, strawberry shortcake
and a s’mores bar were big hits, along with the live music of JT Buck,
KHG Graduate Chris Miller, Greg Milo and Jared Soster.

Tom and Daralee Ghinder, founders of Akron Promise, are incredibly
humbled by, and appreciative of, the generous support of this
community, the administrative staff at KGHS, Summit County Executive
Eileen Shapiro and the friends, family and others who helped in the
success of these events.

The big announcement of the night was that Akron Promise will commit
to scholarships through 2022. This means that as soon as this year’s 9th
graders start high school, they know there is a tuition free path to postsecondary success. This scholarship is currently offered to ten graduating seniors at KGHS to attend Stark State College.

In February, Akron Promise, in partnership with The Stark State Foundation, announced a scholarship to benefit TEN 2018 Kenmore-Garfield High School graduates. The Stark State Foundation will match donations to Akron Promise up to $10,000 to fund these scholarships.
The scholarship will cover books, fees and tuition that is not covered by other aid. It is renewable for two full years – enough to earn an industry certificate or associate’s degree.

This is where YOU come in! Akron Promise is hosting TWO fundraisers on July 14th, 2018.

First will be a golf outing, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, at Mud Run Golf Course. Tickets are $70 per person or $280 to sign up a foursome. We will have door prizes, proximity contests, and lunch. All proceeds will go directly to scholarships for Kenmore-Garfield Graduates!

Next, will be a Dessert Party, from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm, at 952 Kenmore Boulevard (the Live Music Now building). Tickets are $25 per person and your ticket includes a variety of desserts, (catered by Akron Public Schools culinary students), a drink voucher, and plenty of local entertainment. This will be a fun, casual night out.

If you are unable to make it to either of these fundraisers, but would like to make a donation to this scholarship fund, please mail your donation to: ATTN: Akron Promise, Kenmore-Garfield High School, 2140 13th Street SW, Akron, OH 44314.

Akron Promise will continue their efforts to shape a community involved culture of education which includes providing tuition free paths to post secondary degrees and certificates for all students in Akron. For more information and/or to purchase tickets please visit our website at www.akronpromise.org, contact us on Facebook, or via e-mail.

952 Kenmore Blvd (the Live Music Now building). Tickets are $25 per person and your ticket includes a variety of desserts, (catered by Kenmore-Garfield High School culinary students), a drink voucher, and plenty of local entertainment. This will be a fun, casual night out.

You can change lives. You can help break the poverty cycle. You are wanted and needed by students at Kenmore-Garfield High School!

In mid-November, Tom and Daralee Ghinder, founders of Akron Promise, set up a table outside the KGHS cafeteria. They had one simple sign that read, “After high school… got plans?” Students were asked about their plans after they left KGHS and if they’d like to sign up to have a mentor to coach them to their goals. Fifty-six students signed up and twenty-five have returned the required permission slips. The number was a pleasant surprise and more mentors are needed right away.

No experience is necessary! Akron Promise will provide mentors with all the needed resources. United Way’s iC.A.R.E. mentoring program is providing mentor background checks, fingerprinting, and a one-hour training session. The time commitment is flexible, anywhere from one to three hours per month. Students will be matched with mentors, based
on their backgrounds, interests and job choices. Mentors will meet with their students at a mutually convenient time, in or out of school.
Akron Promise is working to shape a community-involved culture of education in Akron.

We’re working to give students and families access appropriate supports, resources and opportunities. For more information, or to sign up, please call Tom Ghinder at 330-329-4855, email at tghinder@gmail.com, or go to http://bit.ly/AkronPromiseKGSA.

Akron Promise, in conjunction with the Stark State College Foundation, has launched a scholarship to benefit the graduates of Kenmore-Garfield High School.

The Kenmore-Garfield Stark State College Scholarship will provide scholarships for up to two years toward tuition and books for the Kenmore-Garfield Class of 2018 to attend Stark State College in the fall of 2018. To be eligible, students must graduate from Kenmore-Garfield High School, be Pell eligible, reside in the city of Akron, and pursue a full time certificate or degree at Stark State College.

There will be up to ten scholarships awarded to 2018 Kenmore-Garfield High School Graduates.

This is a pilot program for Akron Promise. Our hope is that this scholarship will be expanded to more students and more Akron Public Schools’ high school graduates in the future.

Akron Promise will continue their efforts to shape a community involved culture of education which includes providing tuition free paths to post secondary degrees and certificates for all students in Akron.

Today, Akron Promise has launched a social media campaign to recruit 25 new mentors for students at Kenmore-Garfield High school in Akron. Our objective with this program is to assist these students with identifying their post high school objectives AND help them reach their goals.

In the latest Blog post from The Campaign for Free College Tuition, they reported some success in state policy across the country in 2017. Akron Promise is dedicated to working with the State of Ohio to find the right program to implement here to enhance our economic opportunity and the economic development of our state.

From the Blog Post:

— Tennessee extended its first in the nation Promise program to all adults who want to return to a community or technical college to get their certificate or degree this fall. We expect that their Tennessee Reconnect program, which was discussed in detail with state leaders at our May workshop in Denver, will be copied by other states as well, just as the Tennessee Promise has become the model several state Promise programs – including Nevada and Rhode Island – enacted this year.

— New York’s Excelsior Scholarship program made that state the first to extend the concept of free tuition to its four-year institutions, for students at any level of undergraduate studies.

— California’s new College Promise Grant will be the first to offer a “first dollar” scholarship at the state level when the program is funded for the Fall 2018 term. This means that, assuming funds are appropriated for those grants in next year’s budget, Pell and Cal Grant eligible freshmen community college students who take a full course load can use these need-based funds on books, transportation, and other costs of attendance.

Last week, the Upjohn Institute hosted a information webinar, “Learning from a Decade of College Promise Scholarships”, on data, metrics, and the status of Promise programs in the US. I invite you to view and consider how, together, we can bring a Promise program to Akron and the affect such a program would have on our community.